Section 29 of the Constitution Act, 1982 prevents the “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” from weakening the constitutional protection of denominational schools. As a consequence, denominational separate school boards can discriminate among students for religious reasons on bases prohibited by human rights legislation. An example was a decision by an Ontario separate school board to forbid a homosexual male high-school student from going to the graduation prom with his boy friend. This decision was overturned by a court injunction that did not prejudice the ultimate court decision which must be based on the legal merits of the question. Should this type of discrimination be permitted? If you had to rule on this matter, what would your decision be and why?
Section 29 of the Constitution Act, 1982 prevents the “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” from weakening the constitutional protection of denominational schools. As a consequence, denominational separate school boards can discriminate among students for religious reasons on bases prohibited by human rights legislation. An example was a decision by an Ontario separate school board to forbid a homosexual male high-school student from going to the graduation prom with his boy friend. This decision was overturned by a court injunction that did not prejudice the ultimate court decision which must be based on the legal merits of the question. Should this type of discrimination be permitted? If you had to rule on this matter, what would your decision be and why?